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Introduction:
After spending a few weeks with them, it is time for another mechanical keyboard switch review, this time for the JWK Unlubed Linear available from 1Up Keyboards. Like the TECSEE Purple Panda switches from last time, I purchased these from 1Up but was provided a discount to support doing these switch reviews.
As the name suggests, these are linear switches like the Silk Yellow and NK Cream switches I have reviewed previously (both provided by NovelKeys, which also provided the NK65 – Entry Edition I have been doing the switch reviews with). The similarities do not end there as the Silk series is manufactured by JWK as well, though they are factory lubricated with Krytox 205g0.
1Up Keyboards offers two versions of these switches, featuring different spring weights. Though I am a heavy typist, I opted for the lighter weight of 62 g, which come in a clear housing. The heavier 67 g option has a smoky housing and both are priced at $0.60 per switch. This clear housing was something I noticed almost immediately upon installing in the NK65 with its per-key RGB, as the light was far brighter than it has been with most of the switches I have tested. The top housing is made of polycarbonate while the bottom is of nylon and the stem is POM. This use of POM for the stem is very intentional as it is a self-lubricating plastic, so over its lifetime as it is worn down by normal use, the microscopic pieces that come off produce a lubricating film, thereby reducing friction. It is also a low-friction plastic to start with and so can produce a very smooth action, but perhaps not quite smooth or consistent enough for some.
The reason these switch are sold unlubed or dry, is so keyboard enthusiasts can apply lubricant themselves, as the amount, placement, and type can all have an impact on the feeling of the action. Some will even take the time to clean factory-applied lubricant off of switches to apply it themselves, to correct inconsistent application. I do intend to lubricate these in the future, but have another set of switches to cover first.
As I have done with the past two switch reviews, I used OBS Studio to simultaneously record typing on these switches in the NK65 with both my MXL 990 recording microphone and my SteelSeries Arctis 7 headset. It saves me time and makes it easier to directly compare the two. Between the first and second recordings I made of these switches, I decided to address the ping I was hearing from the Space Bar stabilizer in the NK65. The ping is still present but intermittent, but this is still less annoying than it was. I doubt this will too significantly impact the recordings, but it is worth mentioning just the same. (For those wondering, I more carefully applied dielectric grease to the stabilizer with a brush, trying to get a more even coating where I think it was needed.)
In the bit more than three weeks I have been using these switches I have done two game reviews (The Last Spell (Early Access) Review being one), written the Dying Light 2 Dispatch Unboxing article, and done an appreciable amount of personal or unpublished writing.
That should do for the introduction, so time to get to actually reviewing this switch.
Review:
Coming from the Purple Pandas made starting with these switches a bit interesting, as those are clearly tactile switches while these are pretty smooth linears. I need to get used to that feeling as well as the ease with which these are activated. I do not actually know this, but at times it felt like the activation point for the switch was higher than on other switches. This proved most noticeable for me with the "M" key as I so often found myself typing "MK," but it is very possible this is more the result of my right hand's position than the ease of pressing these switches. Simply put, my right hand is at an angle that does not align with the keys and while this works fine for me, I can certainly believe it leads to inaccuracies like striking the "K" shortly after pressing "M," though this did not happen often.
As I carefully examine their action now, I am reasonably confident that a sensation I did not care for initially has not gone away from breaking the switches in, but from my getting used to typing on them. More specifically, I believe it was my typing on them faster and with greater force than after I first installed them that removed this feeling I will describe as spongy. That might be a little too strong a word, but it is near enough to how it felt. Something near bottom-out absorbs just enough energy and in a slightly random way that it feels uncertain to my fingers, at least when not typing at speed.
I feel I should also say that when I am typing more slowly on these switches, I can feel why lubricating them should make a difference. To be clear, these are still pretty smooth, even dry, but when I pay close enough attention and am not slamming my fingers on them, I can feel plastic-on-plastic friction between the stem and housing. Replacing that with a lubricant-on-lubricant interface could definitely make a difference, and I hope I will do a good enough job when the time arrives. Perhaps that will also knock out the spongy feeling, as it might be this friction producing that sensation. Additionally, I can feel some static friction when transitioning from the down stroke to the up stroke, and this I can also believe lubricating will take care of. When I am typing at my normal speed or gaming I do not notice this or the spongy feeling.
While I am able to describe these less-than-ideal experiences with these switches, they are not as significant as the word count may suggest. As I already said, once I got used to them and was typing at speed, they felt fine. I can notice the plastic-on-plastic friction sometimes while typing, but not often and that is something you can feel on a number of dry switches. The plastic-on-plastic friction of the NK Creams stood out more and was rougher as well. When I feel it with these switches, it is like the stem is going between gripping and sliding, but with the Creams it was more like a small amount of grit was there. (I did just grab an NK Cream and actuate it in my fingers, not installed in a plate or on a PCB, to compare the feeling.)
Another comparison I can make with the NK Cream switches is that those do feel noticeably heavier. That is not to suggest 62 g is a light spring weight, I believe it is more middle of the road compared to others, but it is really not that much resistance for me as I type. It is enough that I can feel the force of the spring, but it is not enough to call it resistance.
Coming to the sound of typing on these, I would describe it as on the upper end of the middle range of pitches. As I am inclined to say I am still building my experience reviewing switches, my sense of pitch range might be inaccurate, but I would still say these are not very high pitched, at least not in the NK65 – Entry Edition. This is certainly not a low pitch, which is where I would prefer switches to be, if they must make much sound at all. I think a better way to describe the sound is it seems more to be the sound I would expect from just striking the keycaps against the switches. It is not a high enough pitch to make them annoying to type on, as such a sound would be for me, but they might not be that far away from those frequencies either.
Now for the audio statistics, starting with the recordings made after installing them in the NK65. As always, the recordings can be found in a GitHub repository: Custom-Keyboard-Files/@Switches/JWK Linear – Dry/NK65.
According to the statistics for the recording microphone, when the audio is amplified so my voice peaks at -3 dB, my typing peaked at -14.822 dB. For the headset, where my voice was clipping and so peaked at 0 dB, typing peaked at -16.238 dB. Using the Contrast tool in Audacity, my -3 dB-voice averaged -24.68 RMS dB with the recording microphone (-35.28 RMS dB without the amplification) and my typing was at -47.64 RMS dB on average (-58.24 RMS dB without amplification), producing a contrast of -25.423 RMS dB. For the headset, my voice averaged -17.25 RMS dB and my typing averaged -52.03 RMS dB, resulting in a contrast of 34.77 RMS dB.
With my second recording, a little more than three weeks later and after getting used to typing on these switches, my typing peaked at -15.584 dB, when amplified so my voice was at -3 dB. With the Contrast tool, the average for my voice was -25.53 RMS dB (-37.51 RMS dB without amplification) and my typing was at -44.16 RMS dB (-56.14 RMS dB) for a difference of 18.64 RMS dB. Though it is difficult to compare the recordings directly, as I must move my microphone into position each time I use it, this second recording has the switches being much louder. I doubt that is truly the case that they became louder, but that I was typing faster and harder with them, having become more accustomed to their action. For the headset my voice again was clipping and my typing peaked at -12.67 dB. With the Contrast tool my voice averaged at -18.15 RMS dB and my typing at -49.90 RMS dB, producing a difference of 31.75 RMS dB. Clearly the headset also noticed the typing sound being louder, though the difference is not as great as with the recording microphone.
Checking the wobble of the spare switch I have (I only have two spares of these switches and one is taken apart), there is no housing wobble that I can notice. There is some noticeable stem wobble, however, along both the North-South and West-East lines, but I do not feel like it is excessive. Some amount of stem wobble is almost necessary, to ensure the stem can freely move, but it is more than most of the other switches I have, especially on the North-South line. It could be tighter, but I am unsure if it is at the point of needing to be tighter.
I should also mention that when removing keycaps I had three of these switches pull out of the socket and plate with the caps. The first happened when I was installing the switches and found one was not functioning and needed to remove it. To facilitate that I wanted to remove the keycap of the switch above it and found the switch came with it. The remaining two pulled out as I was removing the caps to change out the switches. As this has not happened with any other switches I have tested, I can only apply the reason being these specific switches. I never had a problem during normal use, but it still might be something worth noting.
Conclusion:
In the end, what do I think of these switches and can I recommend them? I think I can, but they are not perfect. Of course I do prefer tactile switches, so linear switches may have a tougher chance against me. Anyway, they feel fair to type on (keep in mind what I just said; I prefer tactiles) and the sound is okay. There is some friction to their action, but when typing at speed I do not notice it significantly. For gaming they worked very well as they are smooth and responsive. It might just be from how smooth they are, or the activation point is actually higher than on some switches, but even a light tap seems to be enough to trigger them, which might be exactly what you are looking for.
I can believe lubricating them will improve the experience noticeably, but that is going to wait a bit. Even dry, they are good, and with the clear housing they work very nicely with per-key lighting, whether that is RGB or single color. I know such transparent plastic is not necessary for this lighting, but it might be something to keep in mind, depending on your purposes for your build.
The next set of switches I am going to use are nearly identical to these. In fact, the only differences are the stems being a different color and featuring dampeners on them. They are the JWK Unlubed Silent Linears with the same spring weight and housing, which should make this comparison interesting. After reviewing those, I will open up the Krytox 205g0 I was provided when I started with custom keyboard builds and apply some NovelKeys switch films I purchased to see the difference.
